I do like celebrating Christmas in Finland, especially during those years when there is a lot of snow, but I do not need to go back there every year. I am not one of those people who follows all Christmas traditions. I do not even like most of the traditional Finnish Christmas dishes. I have spent many Christmases abroad and to be honest, one of my most memorable Christmases was in Mamallapuram, India (eating lamb chops!). Quite a traitor, some of you are thinking now…

This year we are going to celebrate Christmas with my parents in Paris. The preparations are yet to be completed, but on the 24th we are invited to a birthday party/Russian Christmas Eve buffet at a friend’s place. After smoked salmon and champagne, our night will probably continue to the midnight mass at Notre Dame. Sounds like an other excellent way to start the celebrations to me!

However, to pay respect to the Finnish Christmas and to show you how it looks like, I thought to share some old photos from where my parents live. In this first photo, you can see my father preparing a path for ice skating (yes, he is walking on a frozen river!).

This next photo shows you the house from the river. There is a very little of light around the Christmas period, but often a nice blue light appears just before the sun sets..

In this last photo you can see a huge pile of snow that we accumulated by keeping the ice path free of snow. We thought of constructing an igloo of it but the time run out!

If I get a permission from the people involved, I will post more photos of Christmas in Finland and especially of what jumping half-naked to the frozen river or lake means…! Meanwhile, what does your Christmas usually look like? Which has been your most memorable Christmas?